About $9,000 worth of computer equipment has been stolen from students and faculty at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building in the last two weeks, said Chaouki Abdallah, chairman of the department.
Abdallah said the suspect probably has a key to the building, so the department will have to replace all the locks - which could cost up to $20,000. Police said they have a profile of the suspect, but they are still investigating.
The first incident happened April 17 when it was reported that a man was seen stealing computers, Abdallah said.
"Somebody walked in, and he was picking up things. He was going into different offices, and we suspect he had a key because nothing was broken," he said. "We also had a camera, and we provided that to the police. One of the grad students confronted him because he was carrying her backpack, and she started screaming and more graduate students confronted him."
Abdallah said the students called the UNM Police Department, but the man had left by the time officers arrived.
The following weekend, several computers and a projector were stolen, he said.
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Lt. Pat Davis, spokesman for the UNM Police Department, said police will help replace the locks on the building.
Davis said the department's primary concern is securing the area and preventing further thefts.
"This is really an unusual incident because it is a person who goes in the middle of the day and is very obvious about what he is doing," he said. "That is why it is important that people lock their doors when they are not there and secure their valuables, because he is taking advantage of that situation."
Abdallah said he expects the thefts to continue until the suspect is caught.
"We are playing detectives, and we are trying to find out if he is going to strike again," he said. "We are trying to just wait him out until he gets tired of hitting up this building with something else. All I suspect is that somebody has a key."
